hiram.k.hackenbacker

I was in there last week. Great bass experience. What did you buy?

He didn’t write Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band though.

Yes, I’ve said it before, but I do think that SEBTP was a fantastic album - Firth of Fifth along with Dancing with The Moonlit Knight, The Battle of Epping Forest, I Know What I Like and The Cinema Show - glorious 👍

….although I do think that they, as a band, have a better feel for the music anyway.

Could it be something to do with the fact the The Musical Box make the effort to source and play with period correct equipment?

Supper's Ready was recorded for the Genesis Live release, but as you say, was omitted for various reasons. Test pressings were made of the double album including Supper's Ready, this being my digital version of it. The songs on the boxed sets had some re-recordings done I believe.

I remember closing my eyes for about 30 seconds during their performance of I Know What I Like the last time I saw them. A bit like that blind bass quiz that happened at the bass bash, I reckon even the best wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between The Musical Box and the real deal on sound alone for that song.

I remember the Lyceum gig from the 7th of May being broadcast on the Old Grey Whistle Test. I taped it and wore that VHS out with repeated playing. This You Tube video is actually a combination of the 6th and 7th (video from one night and audio from the other) which kind of makes it all the more impressive. I wish they had pro-shot more of their gigs.

As good as Hackett is, and he still smashes that sound you want to hear, it’s the rest of the band that usually lets it down for me. I’m not saying this just ‘cos they’re not Genesis, but the feel is wrong for me. The best performance I saw was the Selling England Tour he did. Even then, I didn’t enjoy the vocals that much. Controversial I know, but I enjoyed The Musical Box more. That reminds me, I have tickets to see TMB again for a gig that has been postponed more times than any other I’ve had tickets for during the COVID years. I think it’s now early 2023.

I depped for a ska band the other week and I saw with my own eyes a trumpet player helping load out a drum kit!! I kid you not.

I understand exactly what you mean. I had the same reaction with the album that followed it - Abacab, but I grew to love it. I think Duke is closer to ....And Then There Were Three than Duke is to Abacab.

Some of it also comes down to what else you have going on in your life and where you prioritise a band. I did everything I could to make it work and right in the middle of the first decade of that band my wife had twins! Fortunately Mrs.H is an absolute star and supported me throughout. The only time I had to hang up my bass was when one of the twins was diagnosed with a brain tumour. A good friend of mine stood in for me for a year whilst that was going on.

Shift work per se shouldn't prevent you from being in a band. I worked shifts for over 30 years. Not just earlies and lates either; these were earlies, lates and nights in various patterns over the years. For 20 of those years I was in a band which had three other shift workers in it and we made it work. I would often takes a night offers annual leave/swap a shift/re-arrange finish times if we had a gig and the others would do the same. I don't recall one occasion during the bands existence where someone failed to turn up. My job was probably the most unpredictable in that I could be held on duty without notice, but I just planned around it. @Horizontalste - I was working your shift pattern towards the end of my time and it was probably the most awkward, but it's doable. Two earlies, two night four days off gives you options. You might not be able to gig every week, but second early and the first three rest days out of every cycle are usable. Hope you find something.

Yeah, he has bit of a history of gypsy's kissing people off. I seem to remember reading something about his bass player leaving as a result. Maybe he came back after, I don’t know. I’m sure I read it somewhere.

I still have my double vinyl copy of’ Swelled & Spent’ (Birmingham Hippodrome 1975) which was the Holy Grail of Genesis bootlegs at one point. I think it was the only full Lamb set back then.

First album I bought was Selling England By The Pound and have devoured everything they did before and since (apart from CAS obvs). Went through a phase of getting just about every bootleg I could lay my hands on. Some of them are rather excellent.

Very much agreed. As @BigRedX mentioned, I think it can be very difficult for originals bands as they can rarely find someone with a head start i.e knowing most of the material to begin with, but covers band deps are fairly easy to find. You just need to know the right people. I've depped for and had loads of deps in for many gigs this year already. We had a rehearsal for a dep guitarists benefit just last night for a gig this Saturday. Sent him the charts, he turned up, smashed it. He was that good he'll be our first call for any of our theatre gigs if we need him.

Thank you. Messaged.

As above, there seems to be an issue with my yearly renewal. Who is best placed on the Basschat team to message?

Not sure about the Vitamin String Quartet. The String Ensemble come up as an artist on iTunes, but not the songs. I don't recall seeing any other Neil's House Music lists on the site.

Ah, apologies.